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Applying for Services

To apply for services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, which includes waiver participation or placement in an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled (ICF/DD), submit an application to the APD office that serves your area, either by mail or by hand delivery. Faxed submissions will be returned for an original signature.

Waiver applicants who are in a crisis situation (homeless, danger to self or others, or caregiver unable to give care) should contact the Agency for Persons with Disabilities regional office serving their county. The local regional office may be able to provide short term services and will review the situation and determine if a crisis application should be completed. For information regarding crisis criteria, please visit the Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register website at: https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=65G-1.

Click here for more information on eligibility and applying for services.

I receive services in another state, but I would like to move to Florida. What do I need to know before I move?

To be eligible for services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, you must be a Florida resident and have one of the following six developmental disabilities: autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, spina bifida or children age 3-5 who are at a high risk of a developmental disability. Once you move to Florida, you can apply for services through one of the APD regional offices. Contact information for each office can be found by clicking on the map below.

After applying, and if you have been found eligible to receive services, you will be placed on a waiting list based on the date you were determined eligible. You and your family may want to consider the services that are being received now, and determine if you would be able to go without those services for an extended period of time after relocating to Florida.

If you feel you are Medicaid eligible, please contact the Florida Department of Children and Families at 1-866-762-2237.

If you are under the age of 21, you may qualify for services under the Medicaid State plan. Please contact the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration at 1-888-419-3456 for more information.

Supporting Active Duty Military Services Families

The 2014 Florida Legislature authorized individuals who meet the eligibility requirements
of 393.065(1), F.S., to receive home and community-based services in this state if the
individual’s parent or legal guardian is an active duty military service member and, at the
time of the service member’s transfer to Florida, the individual was receiving home and
community-based services in another state. This law became effective on July 1, 2014.